Block Dungeon

Information

Status

Ongoing

Year

2022

Author

RobertKeene

• Chapter 4 - PENDING SELECTION
  Mar 22, 2022
• Chapter 3 - You're It
  Mar 21, 2022
• Chapter 2 - ERROR - NOT FOUND
  Mar 20, 2022
• Chapter 1 - Giga-Screwed
  Mar 19, 2022
• Chapter 0 - Prologue
  Mar 19, 2022

Reviews

Community Reviews(4)

• Author_RJRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Block Dungeon by Robert Keene is exactly what I expected it to be. Reading the blurb, I expected a mash-up of Minecraft/Terrerria in a fantasy world, and that's what I got on the surface. Mine blocks, build a generator, survive, and expand.
  That's where the similarities start to warp into something new and unique. Gem, the dungeon core, has your normal dc back story with his normal problems. Paired with a male wisp, something I rarely see in dungeon core and deserves to be mentioned,the two begin their adventure to save the world core from destruction.
  The mechanics of the adventure are familiar for any sky block player or anyone familiar with the dc genre of books. While the story is still growing, the bite sized chapters are quick but well fleshed out as everything is explained and developed.
  I look forward to continuing the adventure as it grows and will try to update this accordingly. However as it is, it till a fun, fast, unique read.
• DimirRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Style: Keene's narrative style and voice are capable of grasping the reader and trapping them in the story as eat chapter just keeps you engaged. There's not a single description I could think to ask for that Keene hasn't already provided. I latch onto every sentence and find myself satisfied every time I finish a short reading session, and delighted by the end of every chapter.
  Grammar: The grammar and editing are well done, and what few mistakes can be found are quickly corrected by Keene. The diction and syntax are simple enough that words can be easily inferred if necessary, but there's also enough variance that things stay interesting and descriptive, all while outlining the gorgeous mental geometry of Sleyn.
  Story: The premise is rather unique, and I find the story's structure to drive the narrative as naturally as water running down hill. Every story beat, whether it is expected or a surprise, is interesting and well executed, and I find myself begging for more at the end of every chapter.
  Characters: The characters for this story as well-rounded and diverse, and they serve as perfect points to organically build the world around them as well as insert relevant plot devices and events. Chesu serves as a wonderful foil to Gem's forgiving personality, and the recent character additions work perfectly as foils as well. The adventurers are believable and relatable all at once, and I find myself rooting for not just their success, but their growth as well!
  Overall this story is one of my favorites and I'm excited to see where Keene takes Block Dungeon, as well as how Sleyn and the story of the Ostrum fit into the wider Coreverse as a whole!
• GrumpDidGoodRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I’ve been a long time reader of Dungeon Core books, going back to Divine Dungeon, but recently I’ve started to get kind of tired of the genre because so many of them hit the exact same tropes with very little variation. I came to RR because a friend told me Dungeon Core books were more experimental here, and Block Dungeon was the first one I tried.
  My friend was right, in the best way.
  Block Dungeon is definitely, without question, a damn good dungeon core story. It has the dungeon running that I love about the genre as a central focus, so if you’re here for dungeon core you’re going to get that - but it also does so much more. So many dungeon core books struggle to balance the dungeon running and larger plotlines, but Block Dungeon hits the sweet spot for my taste of having a world ending threats while also making the dungeon running relevant to what’s happening in the story - specifically, a larger threat to the world that Gem needs to be able to face.
  Speaking of Gem, he is (if you’ll pardon the pun) - an absolute gem of a character, and has already become one of my favorite Dungeon Cores. The classic Dungeon Fairy is present, here called a Wisp (more about that later on), and Gem and Chesu’s interactions are golden. It’s a nice inversion of the usual relationship between core and fairy, because in this case the Fairy actually feels like a being who had worked with cores for years and years and years and knows all the tricks. He starts off gruff but grows to like our protagonist, as all good mentor figures do, and overall their relationship is very believable.
  On top of that, Block Dungeon has a wider cast than most, owing to the inclusion of something called a Servitor. Don’t want to go into the details too much to avoid spoilers, but the Servitor is a great addition so the entire book isn’t just the Dungeon and Wisp talking. This also allows the author to keep the story focused entirely on Gem’s POV, so there’s much less time spent distracting us with the Adven
• Jami_NordRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I love how cynical Chesu is. He really reminds me of the satyr who trains Hercules in that movie, and it cracks me up, especially early on. I like Gem too, they do a good job at balancing their conflicting needs in a way that really makes me excited to see where the plotline goes from here. It's a bit more brutal than I expected, but not gory, which is nice.
  I'm really curious to see how the farming of the monsters for EXP plays into the story. It makes a lot of sense that they'd find another way and not rely on dungeons when they didn't have them, but that dungeons would be a far more appealing option (cause that sweet, sweet loot!). It'll realistically train fighters for the planet's needs too, but at Gem's expense basically. Which could create some really neat conflicts later on, I suspect.